Gov. Denny Tamaki during a regular press conference at the prefecture's office in Naha, Okinawa, Japan, April 12, 2024. (Okinawa Prefecture)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The governor of Okinawa was scheduled to visit Tokyo on Wednesday to file protests regarding two U.S. service members that were indicted for alleged sexual crimes this year.
Gov. Denny Tamaki planned to meet with State Minister of Defense Makoto Oniki, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa and Shunichi Kuryu, the deputy chief cabinet secretary, at their offices, according to a news release Tuesday from the prefecture’s Military Base Affairs Division.
“These inhumane and despicable crimes committed by U.S. soldiers are serious and malicious acts that disrespect the human rights and dignity of women, and cannot be tolerated at all, and we cannot help but feel strong outrage,” Tamaki said in a letter Wednesday to Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. “Furthermore, the fact that such malicious incidents have been discovered one after another is causing strong anxiety to the citizens of the prefecture.”
Tamaki, an outspoken opponent of the U.S. military presence on Okinawa, previously expressed “strong resentment” over the allegations prosecutors leveled against an Air Force airman and labeled as “contemptible” the subsequent, unrelated accusations against a Marine.
The Naha Public Prosecutors Office indicted the Air Force member, Brennon R. E. Washington, 25, assigned to Kadena Air Base, on March 27 on charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a girl under 16 in December. Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton of the III Marine Expeditionary Force was indicted June 17 on charges that he attempted to sexually assault a woman May 26 in Yomitan village.
Tamaki in separate letters to Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara called on the Japanese and U.S. governments to take measures to prevent further incidents, including tighter liberty restrictions on U.S. troops and compensation to victims of criminal acts “without delay.” He also said the government should convene a Cooperative Prevention Working Team.
Referring to the incident in December, as a case of child abduction, Tamaki wrote: “Relevant organizations and local communities should immediately work together to prioritize protecting children from kidnapping,” according to a copy of his letters provided Stars and Stripes by his office Wednesday.
He wrote that the information sharing system did not work well, and the prefecture was not informed of either case. “As a result, the prefecture was not able to take any measures, and we think this is an extremely big problem.”
Masataka Okano, Japan’s vice-minister for foreign affairs, delivered formal complaints about both cases to U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel in Tokyo.
Tamaki also complained that Tokyo authorities kept his administration in the dark about both cases, a spokeswoman for the prefecture’s Military Base Affairs Division told Stars and Stripes by phone Wednesday.
“The governor will complain about both incidents and will request to share information,” the base affairs spokeswoman said.
Some Japanese government officials are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.
Local police and prosecutors did not immediately publicly disclose either incident, citing the need to protect the privacy of the woman and the girl they identified as victims.
Okinawa prefecture was not notified of the incidents and became aware of them through local media reports, the spokeswoman said.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry was aware of both incidents but did not share that information with the prefecture, Kamikawa said at a press conference Friday. Kamikawa on Tuesday promised to consider sharing information with local governments regarding serious incidents.
At the Pentagon, the Defense Department is “closely working with the local communities to address their concerns regarding these cases,” top Pentagon spokesman Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a press conference Tuesday.
Ryder said U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is closely tracking the cases. “We will continue to do everything we can to keep the lines of communications open on this,” Ryder said.
